link Hi, friends. The theme of today's diary was born from your comments under the last post. We read them all, don’t you know? As Doomykins reasonably noted, the USSR development tree did not appear in the diaries beforehand. Today, we will correct this situation and talk about Soviet artillery in Soldiers: Arena. And so, we’ll tell Egor Tolstoff and the whole community why the difference in one or even several levels is not a huge margin separating the winners from the losers. This is not the final version of the development tree btw. We constantly add new units, change levels or type of existing ones, their places and links with other units, so as not to let imbalanced forces invade your PCs. Vigilantly and relentlessly we stand on the guard of balance.
link We did not include most of the SPGs here, because they are closer to the tanks in the devtree, and we will write about them in the next diary. But even without self-propelled guns, the artilleryman has a wide range of tools to destroy any enemy. Collecting the deck, you can adjust it to your style and add some infantry aggressiveness, self-propelled mobility or howitzer large-caliberness. How to play and how to assemble a commander is up to you. In Soldiers: Arena, the artilleryman does not have to sit in the bushes all the time. Despite the fact that most guns in this group are good at long distances, they can be played aggressively. After all, the closer the distance to the target, the more likely the ‘one-shot’ is, so sometimes it's more profitable to get to a good position for a shot rather than to aim for long - Especially if you support allied forces or they support you. It makes sense to recall the experience of assault troops during the battles for Stalingrad or Koenigsberg, which included sappers, scouts, riflemen, several machine guns, anti-tank guns and cannons. This tactic also works in Soldiers: Arena, and Zis-3 or 53-K, for example, are lightweight and mobile enough to be moved by the forces of their crew and, moving along with the infantry, to support the offensive. Most often, seeing the advancing infantry, the enemy calls something inexpensive and capable of stopping it. Whether it's a machine gun, an armored car or a medium tank, such an assault team will overcome this barrier without hindering the advance. If you were always embarrassed by the contemplation of the artillery gameplay, it's time to reconsider your views. Any deck can be good in Soldiers: Arena, if you know what you are doing.
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If whale and elephant will fight, who will win?

With the increase in the level and development of the artillery branch, you will gain access to the most threatening weapons such as anti-tank 100 mm BS-3, ML-20, and B-4 howitzers. There is no armor that these monsters can not cope with, and there is no such cover that will save a foe from their domains. The payment for such power is a high level of noise produced, a low rate of fire and heavyweight. In the game, this means that you quickly become visible and evade the retaliatory strike slowly. In addition, the huge caliber does not make the crew more survivable. Grenade, tank tracks, paratroopers, mortars and even small arms - either of these options are deadly. That is why the level of the unit in the tree is not the only determining factor of success in a duel. Often even the most innovative tools can be broken, when you have the correct tactics, skills, experience, and knowledge of the enemy's vulnerabilities. And this is the realism to which we aspire. In previous games of the series, for example, the IS-1 has practically no chance against Pz.Kpfw VI Ausf. H1. In Soldiers: Arena all chances are on the side of the experienced player. Even KV-85 or T-34-85 can compete with the Tiger if they are in better conditions. It creates the room for maneuver when most tank fights are not solved with ‘one-shots’. You can hide into the fog of war after an unsuccessful enemy shot, come from the rear, spot him first, lure it to some mines or just knock down its tracks and allow allied artillery to spank him - all this can lead to the victory of a weaker unit. In addition, the fight is not split into an amount of duels and sometimes there is no time for them. The Tiger may be stronger than KV-85, but is it stronger than KV-85 and BS-3, for which you carefully spotted it? In the previous Diary we compared the F-22 and Pak 36 (r). Indeed Pak 36 (r) is one level above and better copes with the tanks, but the F-22 due to a larger bullet drop can shoot with indirect fire. It turns out that Pak 36 (r) copes better against tanks, but the F-22 copes better against the Paks, and it does not matter what Pak we’re specifically talking about. Which of them is stronger?
link Even the units of the first levels never lose their relevance. The most advanced infantry will die very quickly if it is sent to a fortified position with fire coming from a modest first level Maxim gun. ZIS-2 crew often do not even think about the level of medium tanks they’re facing. And no matter what version of Pak the enemy has, even a 50-mm mortar can handle it, if you give them enough time to it. And of course, BM-37 or 120mm regimental mortar can cut some people to shreds without hesitation. Taking a position in the yards or behind a natural shelter, you can shell the infantry and artillery of the enemy even through the entire game duration. People often underestimate such cheap and, apparently, harmless units. Seeing something powerful and expensive on the map, players forget about everything just to focus on taking the kill. Tankmen are firing from all guns, infantry is leaping about with grenades in their hands and howitzers are firing at tanks hoping to deal the finishing shot. And during this time a mortar crew may destroy half of the enemy's artillery. Also, no matter how powerful are the infantry in the trenches or buildings are, they can not survive the hit of a 76-mm shell of the M1943, and the penny-worth DS-39 suppresses the infantry better than the B-4 because it shoots without prolonged reloadings. We can continue calling out examples, but you have caught the main idea. Whether the unit will dominate the session depends only on your skills and knowledge.
By the way, we have finished the model of 29-K. Changed the body and supports to match the real ones, and added animations. This gif is for you. The next diary will be in three weeks, since from 6th to 19th we have a vacation. All of Best Way at once will take it, just to avoid unnecessary delays and disruption of the schedule. So we’ll see you in three weeks, friends. Wish you all the best.

[ 2018-08-02 19:22:04 CET ] [ Original post ]